intendent of the borough water works, a position
with a three-years' tenure of office.
Mr. Burke belongs to Ivy Lodge, K. P., and is
a member of many Masonic bodies, including Com-
pass Lodge, Keystone Chapter, Hamilton Council,
St. Elmo Commander}-, Scottish Rite Consistory,
and the 32d degree. He is al.so a member of Court
Wallace, Foresters. Politically Mr. Burke is a
Re])ublican, and has served as a member of the
town committee.
Daniel W. Burke was married, Oct. 21, 1885,
to Miss Harriet Lord Bryant, a daughter of Sidney
Bryant, and a sister of Judge Samuel J. Bryant, of
Orange. This union has been blessed with three
children: Bryant L., born Nov. 25, 1887; Edmund
S., born Julv 28, 1893; and Catherine, born Dec.
29, 1898.
ALFRED JOHN SHIPLEY is a native of
Waterbury, born Jan. i, 1840, and has spent the
greater ])art of his active life in that city, where he
has attained a high standing by industry, hard
work and the faithful ])erfi)rmance of all the duties
that come to him. There is a certain heredity of
mechanical genius that has descended to him, but
his industry and reliability have made him what
he is.
Joseph Shipley, the father of Alfred J., was
born in Birmingham, England, May 7. 1814, and
died in Waterbury, Coim., Aug. 12, 1866. Ralph
Shipley, the grandfather of our subject, was also
born in Birmingham, Nov. 15, 1788, and died
March 22, 1835, in Paterson, N. J., where he was
engaged in the manufacture of small tools and ma-
chinery. He married Mary Rollinson, who was
born in Birmingham, England, and they had only
one child. Joseph, already mentioned as the father
of Alfred J. Ralph Shipley married for his second
wife Hannah Saunders, who was born March 19,
1795, and by her had eight children: Sarah, Mary,
Hannah, Amos, Percilla, Martha, Naomi and
Ruth. .\mos was a silver-plater in Newark, N. J.
— where his sisters married and settled.
.\fler the death of his father Jospeh Shipley re-
moved to Waterbury, where, with the exce])tion of
a few years — between 1850 and 1857, when he was
engaged in the machine business in Newark, N. J.,
he spent his active life. He became interested in
the invention and building of machinery for mak-
ing jjins, hooks and eyes and other brass goods for
wliich Waterbury has been famous, and at the time
of his death he was engaged in building machinery
for the Scovil! Manufacturing Co. Personally he
was of a retiring and diffident nature, but firm in
his convictions of right and justice. He was a
strong supporter of Republican institutions, and
early placed himself on record as o])posed to human
slavery. On .March 11, 1839, Mr. Shipley was
married, in Waterbury, to Sarah James, who was
born Vch. 17, 1808, and died .\ug. 8, 1882. Her
first husband. William Stanley. a native of Birming-
ham, England, was brought to this country as a
skilled brass worker. To Mr. and Mrs. Stanley
were Ixirn three children, .\mi M., \\'illiam and
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1 127
James, descenrlants of whom are now livings in
\\ atcrhiiry. 'J'd .Mr. and Mrs. Shipley were born
two children: .Mfrcd John, who.-ic name introduces
these lines; and Rali>h J., a resident of Milford,
this State, who is well known as a sk'ulfnl mechanic.
.\lfred J. Siiipley spent his boyhood days in
\\'aterbury initil he was nearly ten vears of age,
when his parents moved to Newark. X. J., where
liiey remained nearly seven years. There he con-
tinued to attend the i)ul>lic schools, having already
begun his schooling in Waterbury. The familv re-
turned to Waterbury in 1837. Alfred served an
ai)prenticeshi]) at the machinist's bench under his
father's supervision, and when he had mastered the
trade went to work for Henry A. Matthews & Co..
continuing with that firm tmtil 1862, in which year
he entered the employ of the Scovill Manufacturing
Co. He has now been with them nearly forty
years, for years holding the position of master me-
chanic in the button department.
Mr. Shi])ley and .\liss Ann J. Robinson were
married Aug. ^o, 1862. Mrs. Shipley was born
in Waterbury. daughter of Edward and Maria
(lia.xter) J^obinson. both natives of Birmingham,
England. Her parents were married in England,
and shortly afterward came to this country, lo-
cating first at Middletown, and very soon removing
to Watcrbur'- 1 lere they lived and died, her fa-
ther's death occurring Jan. 12. i88r. and her
mother's May 12, 1867. They were the parents of
ten children, of whom six survived to reach ma-
turity, Edward A., Horace B., Ann J., Rose A.,
Cieorge L. and Fannie E. Edward A. married
Harriet A. Waters, and is now deceased : Horace
B. is a retired mechanic in \\'aterbury ; Ann J. is
the wife of our suliject: Rose .\. married Harry L.
Lott, of \\ aterbury, and is the mother of three chil-
dren, Willie, Lena and litta. Mr. and ^Irs. Ship-
ley have no children. In political sentiment Mr.
Shipley was originally a Whig, and is now a Re-
publican. He is a public-spirited man, and takes
much interest in all movements looking to the gen-
eral good. For a numiier of years he served as an
alderman in the city council from the I'irst ward
of Waterbury, and for two years was a member of
the board of education.
Mr. Shipley is dceijly interested in the mystic
work of the Masonic fraternity, and is among the
most conspicuous Masons in the State. In 1864
he united with Harmony Lodge, No. 42, 1". & A.
M., at Waterbury, and since that time has jour-
neyed far into the mysterious country. He has
been master of Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A.
M.. and high priest of Eureka Chapter, No. 22,
R. A. M., of Waterbury. He belongs to Water-
bury Council. Xo. 21. R.'& S. ^^., at Waterbury; is
past commander of Clark Commandery, No. 7, K.
T.. at Waterbury : a charter member of Doric Lodge
of Perfection, fiiurteenth degree, at Waterbury;
ireniber of Ionic Council, Frinces of Jerusalem, six-
teenth degree ; Waterbury :^r. W. and P. ^f. of Cor-
inthian Chapter, Rose Croix, eighteenth degree, at
Waterbury ; member of LaFayette Consistory, S. P.
R. S.. thirty-second degree, Bridgeport : I'vramid
Temple, A. A. O. N. ?iL S., Bridgeport ; and P. P.
Xaomi Chapter. Xo. 23. C). E. S., Waterbury. He
was the first president of the Masonic Club of' Wat-
erbury. j\Irs. Shipley is also much interested in so-
ciety work, and is now past matron of Naomi
Lodge, No. 23, U. E. S., and past R. M. of Ever-
green Court. Xo. 2. C. of A. She belongs to the
King's Daughters, and is, with her husband, a mem-
ber of the iMrst Baptist Church, of which he has
bebn a deacon since 1871. He is a member of the
board of trustees of the Baptist State Convention,
and was vice-president of the Y. .M. C. A. for vears.
G. FRED BARXES. foreman of the flask de-
partment in the \\'aterbury Brass Co.'s factorv,
Waterbury. is a native of the State of Xew York,
born in Harpursville. Broome countv.
(iernian liarnes. his grandfather! was born in
Plymouth Hollow (now Thoniaston). Litchfield
Co., Conn., and lived there until he was twentv-
one years old. when he married Roxv Painter.
They then moved to ILirpursville, Broome Co., N.
Y., making the journey with an ox-team and sled.
There he purchased a large tract of land, engaging
extensively in the lumber business, and later in
farming and cattle raising. He and his wife reared
a family of four children : George B., a sketch of
whom follows: Laverett, who was a merchant in
Harpursville, X. Y.. but died in Washington. D.
C, where he had a married daughter living; Har-
per, who farmed the old homestead, and died there;
and Burton, a carpenter and joiner in Har[)ur.
New York.
George B. Barnes, father of G. Fred, was born
! in Harpursville. X. Y., and passed his entire life
in that locality, engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He married Lnntha Perry, who was also born in
Harpursville, a daughter of Samuel Perry, who was
a farmer by occupation, and had .-erved as a soldier
in the war of 1812. Three children were born to
this union: ( i. Fred is our subject; Levi FT. lives
in Peekskill, X'. Y.. where he is in the employ of
the X'ew York Central Railway Co.; Sarah \. is
the wife of S. F. Main, of Thomaston. Conn. The
father of this family died Jan. 2. 1877. the mother
Nov. 19, 1872. Mr. Barnes was a Democrat in
politics. He served as a captain in the State militia.
G. Fred Barnes, our subject proper, attended
the district schools near Harpursville. and was
reared on tlie home farm. At the age of fourteen
he entered the employ of Floward D. ilontgomery,
driving stage until he was twenty-one years old,
at w'hich time he returned to the farm, and there
remained until the death of his father. After that
event he went to Milford, Conn., and entered the
em])loy of (ieorge B. Grinnell, working on his
large estate, and continuing there some three or
four years. On Oct. y, 1880, he came to Water-
1128
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
bury, and took a position witli the Plume & Atwood
Mfg. Co., with which firm he continued until the
following Fchruary ; then was in the employ of the
Steele & Johnson Co. two vears ; after which he
was with the Scovill Mfg. Co. seven years; with
the -American Ring Co. two years; and at the end
of that time went to the \\'atcrl)ury Brass Co., as
foreman of their flask department, and has been
with that firm twelve years.
On Oct. 9, 1889, Mr. llarnes was married to
Miss Jennie E. Carter, daughter of Dan S. Carter,
of Thomaston ; no children have been born to this
union. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are members of St.
John's Episcopal Church. They reside in their
elegant residence on the corner of Roseland avenue
and Columbia boulevard, built in 1899 by our sub-
ject. Socially Mr. Barnes is a membtr of Xosahog-
an Lodge, Xo. 21, I. O. O. F., and of Ansantawae
Encampment. Xo. 20, and has passed all the chairs ;
he was grand patriarch of the State of Coimecticut
for the term of 1889-90, and he was junior grand
representative of the Grand Encampment of the
Sovereign Grand Encampment that met in Rich-
mond, \'a., in Scpteml)cr, 1900. He is affiliated
with S]jcedwell Lodge, Xo. 10. K. of P., and Tunxis
Tribe. Improved Order of Red Men. Li politics
Mr. Barnes is a Republican. He is held in the
highest esteem in the community in which he lives,
being among the most popular uf Waterbury's
citizens.
THEODORE ELLIOTT BE.\CH. a success-
ful agriculturist of the town of Milford, was born
Feb. 24, 1841, at his present homestead in Wood-
mont. His ancestors were early settlers in the town
of Orange, this county, and be traces his ancestry
back to Thomas Beach, from whom he is descended
through John, Thomas (2) (who married Hannah
Atwater), Landa (who married .\bigail .\nn Bald-
win), Samuel and John. Our subject's grandfa-
ther, Samuel Beach, was born in Orange, and fol-
lowed farming as an occupation. He married Bet-
sey Ward, by whom he had two children : John,
our subject's father; and Betsey (deceased), who
married Lanson Piatt, a farmer in Milford.
John Beach was born and reared in Orange, but
settled at the present homestead after his marriage.
He married Frances Fenn, also a native of Orange,
daughter of John Fenn, a farmer of that town.
Our subject was one of a familv of eight children,
as follows: Mary (deceased) married Horace
Burwell, a carpenter of Milford; John F. was a
carriagemaker in Milford, and died in California;
Elliott, a carriagemaker, died in X'ew Orleans ;
Susan (deceased) married Hiram Smith, a car-
penter of Orange, and later a policeman in N^ew
Haven ; Abigail died aged si.xteen ; Dennis, a ma-
chinist and engineer, died in Xew Haven ; Elmina
is the widow of John H. Knapj). a machinist and en-
gineer, and lives in Xew Haven ; Theodore Elliott
was the youngest. The father died June 21, i860,
and the mother did not long survive, passing away
Feb. 10, 1861.
Theodore Elliott Beach has always resided at
his present homestead, and since taking charge of
the place has made a specialty of seed growing.
The place contains fifty acres, with new buildings
and motlern improvements, and his new residence
is one of the best in the vicinity of Woodmont.
In politics be is a Republican, and he and his fam-
ily are much esteemed socially. On May i, 1861,
Mr. Beach married Miss Emily P. Fenn, and five
children have blessed the union. Elliott Fenn, born
Jan. 3, 1863, a machinist and railroad engineer,
married Miss Fannie .Alice Gardner, and resides in
Xew Haven; Frank J., born .\ug. i, 1865, a farmer
on the homestead with our subject, married Miss
Eda Maud Rhodes ; Fannie Elizabeth, born May
4, 1866, and Ida Louise, born Feb. 2, 1868, are
both teaching school ; and Harry Xorton, born
Dec. 9, 1875, is a typewriter and stenogra])her in
Xew York.
The Fkxx F.xmu.v is well known in this county,
and Mrs. Beach was born in Orange, daughter of
Eliakim T. Femi, of Orange, and granddaughter
of Col. William Fenn. Her mother, whose maiden
name was Elizabeth Ann Piatt, was born in Mil-
ford, daughter of Capt. Joseph Piatt. Eliakim T.
I'enn and his wife had ten children, as follows:
Richard Treat, deceased ; Richard, deceased ; Sarah
Edwards, deceased ; Frances Ann ; Mary Elizabeth,
deceased ; Elizabeth Gertrude ; William .Stone ;
Emily Piatt; Mary, deceased; and Heman White,
deceased.
MRS. FRAXK E. STEELE, a highly-esteemed
resident of .Ansonia, is a member of a prominent
pioneer family of that town, and occupies a house
which was built by her maternal grandfather, Willis
Hotchkiss, over forty years ago. It is located at
the corner of State and Union streets, being one
of three houses erected by .Mr. Hotchkiss in that
block, and is a substantial structure, suggesting
durability. Mrs. Steele, who was reared in .An-
sonia, is the widow of the late Frank E. Steele, a
well-known citizen, and resides with their only son.
I'Vank Willis Steele.
F^R.vxK E. Steele was born Aug. 20, 1848. in
Seymour, this county, son of John B. and Emeline
(Stuart) Steele, both of whom are now deceased.
He was the younger of two children, and the elder,
Celestia, is the wife of E. B. Bradley, of Ansonia.
Mr. Steele was reared at the family homestead in
Seymrur, a fine estate of 100 acres, and as he was
but si.x years old when his father died he took
charge of the place at an early age. For a number
of years he devoted special attention to raising
blooded horses. In 1885 he removed to Ansonia,
but he continued to superintend the farm until his
flcath, which occurred in Ansonia Sept. 10, i8<)8.
While he had received only a connnon-school edu-
cation be was well-informed on the issues of the dav
Cfy^J^A^J^ ^^ ^'
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1 129
and he took much interest in local affairs, licinpf an
active worker in the Republican party. Durintr his
residence in Seymour he served several years as
selectman and at times held other offices. In relig-
ious faith he was a Congregationalist.
In 1881 Mr. Steele married Miss Lillie J. Chat-
field, daughter of Clark Chatfield, and a native of
Xew York City. Her grandfather, Joel Chatfield,
was horn in Seymour, and for many years was a
farmer and merchant in that place, where he died at
â– the advanced age of ninety-two years. He married
Lucinda Hitchcock, who died in early womanhood.
Iloth were devout members of the Episcopal Church,
They had two children : Clark, father of Mrs.
Steele; and Lucinda, now Mrs. Tuttle, of Xew
Haven.
Clark Chatfield was born in Seymour, and was
reared u]K)n a farm, receiving a district-school ed-
ucation. When a }oung man he followed farming
for a short time, and then went to Xew York, where
Tie was employed as manager of a store. Later he
went to Iowa, and then to Kingston, X. Y., and
while there he held the office of city surveyor. He
also spent some time in Mrginia, but finally re-
turned to Seymour, where he now resides upon his
farm, and in addition to the management of the
place he is in Imsincfs as an architect. He mar-
ried Josephine Hotchkiss, wlio was born in An-
sonia. daughter of \\'illis and Mary (Kimberly)
Hotchkiss, and died at the age of twenty-two, leav-
ing onlv one child, Lillie J., Mrs. Steele. Mrs.
Chatfield was a most estimable woman, and a con-
sistent member of the Episcopal Church, w^ith which
Tier family has long been identified. Willis Hotch-
â– kiss was a native of Westville, now Xew Haven,
and spent his life chiefly in Ansonia and Derbv,
where he was engaged in business as a builder and
lumber dealer. He lived to the .good old age of
€ighty-two and was regarded as one of the leading
men of the localitv, his sterling qualities of char-
acter commanding the respect of all who knew him.
His widow, who died Feb. q, IQOO, aged nearly
eighty-eight years, resided with Mrs. Steele. Of
their children only one. ?^Irs. Chatfield, lived to
maturity.
P.ARLOW STEN'EXS HOXCE, a prominent
farmer and a dealer in a,gricultural implements on
the Guilford turnpike in Branford, w'as born in
Matawan, Monmouth Co., X. J., July 13. 1855, son
of James and Mary Augusta Konce. The father
w-as a native of Xew Jersey, and was born in Sep-
tember, 1814, a son of David and Phehe (Peacock)
Honce. The mother was a native of Phillips, Me.,
and was born April 3, 1828, a daughter of Thomas
and Anna (Foster) Stevens. The maternal great-
grandfather of P>. S. Honce, was Ephraim Stevens,
who ffught in the Revolutionarv war. He lived
at Philli])s, Maine, and was married to Sybil Foster,
a daughter of David and Millicent (Howe) Foster.
James Honce was twice married, and his first
wife, Jane, was a daughter of John R. and Mar-
garet Schenck. They were married June 25, 1834,
and became the parents of two children: ^Iary E.,
the wife of Charles W. Palmer: and l'21iza Jane, the
wife of Pascal Hoadley. Mr. Honce was married,
Juno 25, 1834. to Mary Augusta, the daughter of
Thomas and Anna (Foster) Stevens, of Phillips,
Maine. To this marriage have come five children :
Barlow S. ; Clara, wife of Henry Goldsmith: J.
.\rthur; Charles A.; and Anna F., who married
I'Imer G. Earnham. James Honce removed to
P.ranford in 183S, locating on the farm now occu-
pied by his son. Barlow S., and made his home there
until his death, Aug. 16, 1873.
Barlow Stevens Honce w-as reared in Branford.
where he spent his early life with the exception of,
.1 brief period of one year which was spent in Wis-
consin. He received his education in the Branford
schools, and here his entire life has been spent as
a farmer. In 1893 Mr. Honce took an agency for
the sale of the goods of the McCormick Harvester
Machine Co., and has developed a considerable trade
in agricultural implements.
Mr. Honce was married, Oct. 20, 1881, to Alice,
daughter of Martin and Lydia (Hill) Cook, of
Guilford, and thev have one son, Arthur L., born
March 12, 1884. Mr. Honce is a member of the N.
E. O. P. and the Woodmen of the World. In
nolitics he is a Republican, and has served on the
Branford board of selectmen for thee years.
For fifteen years Mr. Honce was a member of
the Connecticut Xational Guard, enhsting Aug. 12,
1883, in the first Platoon, Battery A. Fie was pro-
moted to corporal Aug. i, 1884; became sergeant
May 17, 1886: second lieutenant, Feb. 27, 1888:
first lieutenant: and captain of Battery A, Conn.
Xat. Guard, June, 1894. NN lien the Spanish-Amer-
ican war broke out Capt. Honce obtained leave of
absence from the Xational Guard of the State, and
on May 4, 1898, was appointed captain of Battery
A, 1st Conn. \'ol. Artillery, serving imtil Oct. 23,
1898. when he was mustered out by both the State
and Xational authorities. Though ordered to Porto
Rico, the order was countermanded, and the battery
never left the State. J. Arthur Honce, his brother,
who was second lieutenant in the same battery, died
May 21, 1901. Charles A., another brother, also
served in the same battery.
PAUL SCHOLZ is one of the worthy citi-
zens of Woodbridge that Germany has furnished
to the X'ew World. He was born in Schleswig,
Prussia, Xov. 21. 1836, a son of Charles and Mary
(Werner) Scholz, natives of Schlesicn: the former
died in 1851, and the latter at the age of about
fifty years. In early life the father engaged in
farming, but being a man of considerable fore-
thought he decided to take up the manufacture of
starch, and in his native town he built a factory,
but just as his success was assured he died. He
was a cavalryman in the German army during the
II30
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
war of 1848-50, was a man of great popularity in
his neighborhood, and was credited with good busi-
ness ability and sound judgment. Both he and his
wife were members of the German Lutheran
Church. In tiieir family were three childdren, of
whom our subject is the second in order of birth.
Annie, the eldest, married in Germany, where her
husbanil died, and later she came to the United
States, and' died in New Haven, Conn., in 1896.
Robert, the youngest, was always a wanderer, trav-
eling tliroughout the West and South, and when
last heard from was in the Carolinas.
Paul Scholz received thorough instruction in the
German schools, and during his youth learned the
clock making trade, at which he worked four or
five years. From 1876 to 1879 he served in the
German army, being stationed at Berlin as one of
Emperor William's Light Guards. For the follow-
ing four years he was employed as a clockmakcr in
his native town. In 1883 he emigrated to Amer-
ica, and sailing on the same ship was his future
wife. On landing in New York, Paul and Eliza-
beth Scholz were married, and at once proceeded
to Boston, Mass., where Mr. Scholz secured employ-
ment in rubber boot and shoe factories. Later he
spent five years in New Haven as an employe in the
sewing machine shops, and also in the shops at
A\'cstville, Conn. In October, 1893, he i)urchased
a farm of thirty-si.\ acres in Woodhridge, to which
he added twenty-three acres, in i8q8, and is now
successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, rais-
ing principally fruit and vegetables for the market.
He is also quite extensively engaged in the manu-
facture of butter, and keeps for that purpose a herd
of eight cows. Politically he is not identified with
any party, but votes for the man he believes will
help him most in his business. He once held mem-
bership with the Foresters, but at present is not
connected with any secret society. His success has
been worthily achieved as it is due entirely to his
own unaided eflforts and good management. In his
family are four children, Annie, ^\'illic, Paul and
Gustaf, all attending school.
CHARLES H. BARNES, for several vears pro-
prietor of a well-known and popular liver)' and
boarding stable in Waterbury, which he sold in
1901, is a native of Connecticut, born Mav 13, 1857.
in W'oodbury, Litchfield county, of a stalwart loyal
New England family.
Reuben Barnes, his father, was born in Rox-
bury. Conn., removing thence to Woodliury, where
he has ever since been engaged as a farmer. He
married Neoma Callender, who was ])orn in Hud-
son, N. Y., and died in 1900, the mother of chil-
dren as follows: Charles H. is the subject of these
lines ; Seraphena is the wife of Charles Barto, a
farmer of Hartford countv. Carlton is a farmer in
the town of Woodbury, Litchfield countv ; Lottie
and Nellie are deceased : William is a farmer in
the town of Woodburv, Litchfield countv.
Charles H. Barnes passed his boyhood days on
the farm, and received a good common-school edu-
cation. In 1872, at the age of fifteen, he moved
to Waterbury, and for some five years worked on
the Benedict farm, after which he engaged in vari-
ous kinds of business, such as working in the dif-
ferent shops, until 1891, in which year he embarked
in the livery business, conducting a livery and
boarding stable at No. 46 Spring street. On Aug.
I, 1901, he sold out, returning to his birthplace,
Woodbury, where he is now carrying on a iiotel —
"The Barnes House" — and liverv business on Main
street.
On ]\Iay 30, 1882, Mr. Barnes married Anna
Kelly, who was born in Waterbury, a daughter of
James and Anastasia Kelly, and one child, Elsie,
born Dec. 14, 1885, graces this union. In politics
Mr. Barnes is independent, casting his vote for the
candidate he considers best fitted for the office. So-
cially he is a member of the Independent Order of
Foresters, the Heptasophs. the Red Men and the
Haymakers.
FERDJXAXU DEMING, a citizen of Water-
bury, whose reputation as a mechanical expert is
far more than local, was born in Litchfield, Brad-
ford Co., Pa., Dec. 5, 1845, son of Abncr Dcming.
who was born in Woodbury, Litchfield Co.. Conn..